49ers made in shade?

Published 4:00 am, Friday, July 17, 1998

STOCKTON - As the City of Stockton and the University of the Pacific prepared for the arrival of the 49ers with some last-minute hustle on a stultifying Thursday, the 49ers prepared for the arrival of their rookies by agreeing to terms with six of their seven draft picks.

Only first-round pick R.W. McQuarters is not expected to join the other rookies and selected veterans when they report to the team's new training camp home by 5 p.m. on Friday.

By Thursday afternoon the 49ers had agreed to contract terms with center Jeremy Newberry, tackle Chris Ruhmen, guard Phil Ostrowski and running back Fred Beasley, to go with safety Lance Schulters and wide receiver Ryan Thelwell, who settled up on Wednesday.

Newberry, a second-round pick from California, is expected to sign a four-year, $1.9 million contract upon arrival Friday. The deal includes a $700,000 signing bonus. Not bad for someone who might not play at all in 1998 because of a serious knee injury sustained in a June minicamp.

"We had injury protection insurance from the 49ers," said Newberry's agent, James Sims of Oakland. "They see his value. They hope to get him back this year and they see his future value. They honored his position in the draft without regard to his injury. They treated him very well. That's a big signing bonus for him."

As a sixth-round pick, Beasley was not rewarded nearly as well. His deal is for three years with a value of $600,000, including a $46,000 signing bonus.

The man who negotiated those contracts for the 49ers, Dwight Clark, was given an expanded title by club president Carmen Policy. Clark is now the 49ers' executive vice president and director of football operations for this football-playing football team that begins football practice on Saturday on the football fields of UOP, a school currently without a football team to play football against other football-playing football schools which is sad because it's almost time for football season.

"The change in title for Dwight was intended to not only acknowledge a job well done but to emphasize the importance of football and football operations to the 49ers organization," Policy said in a statement pregnant with football. "Dwight has performed in an outstanding fashion since taking over as head of football operations three years ago."

Coach Steve Mariucci expected to greet 64 players by Friday's reporting date, including six of his seven rookies, quarterbacks Steve Young, Jim Druckenmiller and Ty Detmer and free agents Antonio Langham, Winfred Tubbs, Irv Smith and the injured Gabe Wilkins. The rest of San Francisco's veterans are due Monday.

The first practice is Saturday morning, followed by a welcome ceremony at 12:30 p.m. The first full-squad workout is on Tuesday.

"We've got to get our offensive line guys practicing together, playing together in the preseason, and we've got to find a kicker," Mariucci said in identifying two training camp mandates. "Those are the two things we've got to address before we play the Jets (in the Sept. 6 regular-season opener). We've got to train our free agents in our system - Gabe Wilkins, Antonio Langham and Winfred Tubbs on defense. I expect it to be a heck of a defense again. With three new faces, we've got to be good at what we do."

Twenty-four hours before players and coaches were scheduled to arrive, workers at UOP finished installing bleachers and lining the practice fields. Office staff members were settling into their work spaces in a new building adjacent to the practice field.

"I hope everyone remembers we're in Stockton, not Rocklin," Mariucci said. "There's going to be some newness, but we're going to keep our routines the same. It's a different dorm, different practice field, different places for meetings. We don't want to change our routine. We want to limit the distractions. It's going to be an unbelievable amount of people up there. Once we're out there I think the crowds will be large. I like that. I think the players do, too. It makes a long, hot camp more exciting."

The 49ers are big news here as they prepare for the first year of a 10-year agreement with the city and university. How big? Two scissors-lifts from A&A Tool Rentals poised at the edge of the practice field are identified as "The official equipment rental provider of the San Francisco 49ers."